SRM wants Darjeeling and Duars be returned to Sikkim

Darjeeling, Sep 20 (UNI) Sikkim Rashtriya Morcha(SRM) President R Moktan today declared that he would file a PIL in the Supreme Court demanding the return of Darjeeling district and the Duars region of Jalpaiguri to Sikkim.

While addressing a press conference, Mr Moktan said British- India had rented these places for the comfort of British soldiers and added that before leaving India, the British had handed over the governance of these lands to West Bengal without prior consent of the people, who were principally Nepali-speaking Gorkhas.

Displaying a memorandum submitted by the ruler of Sikkim late Sir Tashi Namg to former prime minister late Jawaharlal Nehru in 1948, Mr Moktan tried to prove that the ruler demanded the return of these areas to Sikkim in 1948.

He also showed a white paper published by West Bengal government during the height of Gorkhaland movement dated October 20,1986, declaring these areas as once belonging to Sikkim.

He further claimed that Bengal had no moral authority to rule Darjeeling and Duars, where people want there own separate state.

UNI